International Journal of Language & Literature

Ethnolinguistic Vitality of Dholuo: Investigating Native Language Retention Among the Immigrant Luo Community in Kisii Town
Mary Buyaki Makanga, Ogone John Obiero

Abstract
In almost all parts of the world, languages in contact maintain their vitality or experience shift. But whether a language is lost or maintained during contact depends on language choices made by speakers. Ordinarily, a minority language faces shift the moment it comes into close contact with a dominant language. However, cases exist where minority languages threatened by shift survive pressure exerted on them from dominant languages. In Africa, the problem of language shift is persistent given the plurilingual nature of the region. In Kenya in particular, the shift from Suba which is a minority language to Dholuo which is a dominant language in Nyanza region is a case in point (Ogone, 2008, 2010). Yet some minority groups maintain their languages despite pressure from dominant communities with which they are in contact, for instance, Kinubi - a minority language spoken in Kibra area of Nairobi is maintained despite its minority status (Yakub, 2012). These two observations represent two opposing standpoints regarding the fate of minority languages when they are in close contact with majority languages. As such, it is not clear whether a minority language is maintained or lost when in contact with a dominant other. This paper seeks to investigate whether Dholuo language spoken in Daraja Mbili area of Kisii town has been maintained by its speakers in the face of overwhelming dominance of Ekegusi language in this area. The paper particularly studies how the various languages available to the residents are used in various domains in Kisii town to determine their relative ethnolinguistic vitality. Arguments in this paper follow the Ethnolinguistic Vitality Theory which holds the assumption that maintenance or shift of a language is based on a group‟s vitality to act collectively in intergroup situations. From a population of 525 Luo people living in Daraja Mbili (see Kenya Census report, 2019), the study purposively sampled 53 subjects in total. Data for this study was collected through interviews and observation schedules. The data was analyzed qualitatively using explanations and descriptions.

Full Text: PDF      DOI: 10.15640/ijll.v12n2a6